A Better Life YA2020

Only one spot of sunlight left on the floor. Please, let it be warm - my hips are killing me.

I circled the spot of light on the floor and felt the warmth the sun had imparted upon it. I lay down with my aching hips on the warmest part, and it felt good. I was just starting to relax when I heard the rapid pounding of little footsteps. Here comes that brat again.

“Oh Dog, please let him go bother one of the other humans instead of me”, I prayed.

Dog must have been outside enjoying the sun because my prayer went unanswered.

I saw him coming, full speed (which is ridiculously slow compared to us) with that drooling grin on his face.

“Please Dog, anywhere but the hips...”

Bang! Right on my hips. My head snapped up and I started to snarl, purely out of reflex action mind you, and I saw the big human looking at me. “Grin and bear it”, I told myself. I remember the last time I nipped the brat. Three days in the garage. “Like he wouldn't have done the same thing.”

Fortunately for me the brats attention span is about three seconds long and he took off running after Dog knows what. And I was free to once again enjoy the healing warmth of the sun.

After a while the floor started feeling cool so I knew it was time to head into the kitchen and see if there was any food in my dish. I didn't hear anything and I didn't smell anything but you never know. The bowl was empty but the female human gave me a piece of cheese. I like her. She smells nice too. Not like the big human or the brat. And when those two are gone she gives me tummy rubs. That is my favorite part of the day. Just the two of us, laying in each others arms, a rub here, a lick there, its glorious. Then the other two come home and I am back on my warm spot on the floor. Its not the best life, but it beats the shelter. But nothing was like the old days back before the shelter. That was really something...

I lay my head down and drifted off to sleep thinking about all my old friends and how we ran the streets all day and all night. It was the best time of my life. There was a restaurant on Main street that always had the best garbage. It was a feast for the nose as much as the mouth. Dog, how I loved that place. All the cool dogs used to hang out there at night. It was the place to be if you wanted to catch a quick sniff. Me and my buddy Fetch would make up fancy breed names for ourselves to impress the girls. His real name was Charlie but he was a retriever so we all called him Fetch. Those were the days.

Every once in a while some cats would try to sneak in and take over the joint. They were always too liberal and never followed their own rules so we would chase them out every time. They talked big but when it came down to it – they were all fluff. “Meow.” What a stupid language.

I miss Fetch. We got taken to different shelters and I never saw him again after that. Word on the street was that Fetch got hit by a car, but that doesn't sound right to me. Fetch was pretty smart. He actually figured out how to get out of his collar and then back in again before the humans found out. There was a nail sticking out in his house. He would hook the collar on that and pull it off. Getting it back on was easy. The humans never figured it out. Fetch was awesome.

I remember the day the female brought me home from the shelter. I was a little scared but it was nice to be out of that little cage. It only took a few days to train her on my bathroom schedule too. She is pretty smart. Everything was great until the big human started hanging around all the time. He was a jerk. He would actually eat a whole cheeseburger right in front of me and not give me any. Can you imagine? I was right there! The female never did that. She would share whatever she had. Most of it was green stuff but every once in a while it was meat and cheese. Those were good times. The big human was sort of okay most of the time. But he had a friend who was a real asshole. He always blew smelly smoke in my face. I chomped him one time for it. He got what he deserved. I warned him so many times but he ignored me. Then, SNAP! I got him good too...hehehe And then I get smacked and locked in the garage for a week. Sheesh! What kind of world are we living in?

“Waaaooooo!” I was howling before I even knew why. The brat was back on my aching hips again. Here comes the female. Dog, I hope she has some cheese...

The End.

You really embodied the perspective of the dog in your story.
Nicely done.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

I Liked This One! Good job as always Vroom!! S&F!!!

a reply to: Vroomfondel

I had fun reading this... you put me right in the moment.

I always enjoy reading what you write.

Thank you all for the kind words. My wife says I have always been part dog. I think I agree with her...

Woof.